With Friends Like These
by nyladnam04
Summary: Harry can't figure out how to propose to Ginny. But with friends like his, he'll find a way. Right?


This was written for stupidhero for the HG Seasonfest on LJ. Once again, it was a great fest and I recommend you check it out if you haven't already. The prompts I received were Fluff (can't tell you how much I agonized over attempting to write fluff!), Best mate!Harry/Ron & Auror!Harry, as well as "Christmas" for the requested winter elements. I was also given a quote that was actually pretty inspirational, but...well...Harry was just too clueless. But he was thinking it, even if he can't articulate exactly what he's thinking. "_You are the answer to every prayer I've offered. You are a song, a dream, a whisper, and I don't know how I could live without you for as long as I have. I love you, more than you can ever imagine. I always have, and i always will."_- the notebook

Much thanks to Jenn for all of the help and the title. And thanks to Fianna & Kathy for running another wonderful fest.

Also...I must say a thanks to my hubby and his buddies for this one. It didn't occur to me until AFTER the fest was over and I was getting ready to post it how much the interaction between Harry and Ron in this is like my husband and his friends. Or how Harry's cluelessness here is so similar to hubby's. Ahh...boys. What would we do without them?

HPGW

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump, thump, thump._

"Do you really think you need _more_ brain damage, Potter?"

_THUMP!_

Harry looked up, his eyes watering a little and his head swimming slightly. He hadn't meant to hit his head so hard on his desk, but Ron's voice had startled him. Then, remembering that his best mate was the cause of all of his problems, Harry glared at the redhead.

He received hysterical laughter for his troubles. _'Note to self: work on death glare.'_

Resigned to his fate of a self-inflicted headache, Harry sighed and looked down at the paperwork from a completed case he was supposed to be working on. "How can I help you, _Ronald?"_

Mercifully, the laughter stopped. "Er, mate, please don't say my name that way. You sound entirely too much like Hermione when you do that."

Harry snorted as he continued to make sure the paperwork was correctly filled out. "That was the point, _Ronald."_ Perhaps it was a little eerie that the Boy-Who-Lived could pitch his voice in a near dead on impersonation of the Brightest-Witch-of-her-Age. But with the number of times he had been subjected to hearing Hermione sigh Ron's name over the last week, it wasn't too difficult.

"I really wish you'd stop it. You see, that's..."

'_Initial on page 8, section F, paragraph iv and then again on page 19, section RR, paragraph xvi. Touch wand tip to page 32...'_

"Huh?" Harry looked up, having completely missed whatever it was that Ron said. "Stop what because who does what when?"

Ron looked deeply uncomfortable. He shifted right, then left, opened his mouth, closed it, reconsidered, took a deep breath and then ruffled his hair. Harry went back to his paperwork, knowing it might take a while for his friend to work up the courage to say whatever it was he wanted to say.

'_Full signature with title on page 107, section QQQ, paragraph xxxii. Finally. H-A-R-R-Y, that Y was a little bit loopy, ah well. J-A-M-E-S, that looks alright. P-O-T-T-E-R, cross the t's. Ugh, gonna hear about sloppiness from Robards on this one. A-U-R-O-R.' _He finished with flourish. It had been nearly three months since he had finished Auror training, but he still loved being able to sign "Auror," instead of "Trainee" on his paperwork.

"Bloody hell, mate, you're starting to scare me. First you say my name just like Hermione does when I'm shagging her and then you get all wrapped up in your paperwork just like she does." Perhaps Harry _was_ getting a little too wrapped up in his paperwork because it took several seconds for the words to sink into the dark-haired wizard's brain.

"Just because I take my work…." Harry paled as the first part of Ron's little speech hit him. "You mean…I've been…But she says that…What about when…" Then the last time he had heard Hermione say Ron's name like that popped up in Harry's head. He nearly leapt out of his chair in his anger.

"WEASLEY! I HAD BETTER HAVE A NEW KITCHEN TABLE BEFORE I GET HOME TONIGHT!"

The redheaded prat had the bullocks to laugh at him. "We're newly-weds. What do you expect?"

With a grumble and a sigh, Harry sank into his chair. "You two have been acting like a couple of randy Hippogriffs since the Final Battle," he muttered. This wasn't a topic he liked to think about. In fact he wished he could Obliviate every single memory of walking in on his two best friends groping or shagging from his mind. And, apparently, now he needed to get rid of the memories of things he'd heard but never suspected were of them doing…_that. _Unfortunately, that many Obliviations would probably land him a bed by Lockhart. Besides, most of those disturbing memories were intertwined with things he didn't want to forget: getting back to together with Ginny, his eighteenth birthday, Arthur's promotion, Teddy's first steps, the first time he made love with Ginny, and nearly every Christmas, Remembrance Day, Halloween, birthday or Sunday dinner at the Burrow.

Ron smacked his lips together and shrugged. "Can't help that she finds me irresistible, can I? Or that she's a wild little…"

"DON'T!" Harry jumped up yelling. Then seeing his fellow Aurors looking into his cubicle, he sat back down and tried to calm down. "Don't finish that sentence or I'll tell Hermione what 'poor, misunderstood creature' you're comparing her to this time."

Ron scowled at Harry, obviously still remembering what had happened when Ginny mentioned to Hermione that her brother had called his new wife a "sexual house-elf, always so eager to please in bed."

Hermione hadn't reacted too well to that.

His paperwork done and nothing to do for the next half hour except be at the mercy of his best mate, Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"So, what is it you want?"

"That was a little rude, don't you think? I come here, strictly as a friend in an effort to cheer you up and offer a little guidance and you treat me like something the Kneazle dragged in. Fine, if you don't want any help with your little problem, I'll just leave." The redhead stuck his bottom lip out in a poor excuse of a pout and turned to exit Harry's cubicle.

_Thump._ "Sorry, Ron." Though, with his face pressed against the top of his desk once more, it came out sounding more like, "Thory, Won."

"That's more like it." There was a shuffling sound as Ron settled himself in the small, wooden chair near Harry's desk. "I've got a brilliant idea. I even had Hermione help me with it! It is perfect and can't possibly go wrong."

Harry sat up, eager to hear Ron's plan. His best friends had insights into solutions to his problems that Harry himself would never have thought of.

Or so he thought. He patiently listened as Ron detailed the entire plan and felt guilty that he and Hermione had gone to so much trouble when there was no possible way Harry could use it. As Ron was telling Harry about a nearby park that could be used for the culmination of the entire plan, Harry had finally had enough and knew he had to interrupt.

"Ron, mate, I really appreciate all of the work you and Hermione have put into this, but I just don't think that will work." Ron's face fell slightly, but he laughed.

"I told Hermione it wasn't the best idea, but she really got into it. She thought it was perfect. I just sort of let her take over since, you know, she's a girl and she ought to know, yeah?" The redhead shrugged his shoulders.

Harry shook his head. "That's sort of the point though, isn't it? We aren't talking about any _girls;_ we're talking about _our _girls." He scrunched up his face in disgust, thinking of what his girlfriend would have done to him if he had used Ron's proposal to Hermione to completely base his own proposal to her on. _'Bat-Bogeys. From my nose only if I were lucky.'_ He shuddered to think of Ginny pointing her wand and uttering her favourite hex at another part of his body. She'd done _that_ to a bloke on the Arrows when he'd grabbed her bum and said some crude words to her after their match a month ago. The Beater hadn't been able to walk right for a week and now most blokes gave Ginny Weasley a wide berth whenever they saw her.

Harry sighed again and scrubbed his hands over his face before completely burying his head in his arms on his desk. "That's it, mate. I'm just going to have to do it some other time. I'm going to just get her that new broom and that can be her Christmas present. I'll try to come up with a plan before Valentine's Day."

"So what should I do with these tickets?" Ron asked, waving two tickets in the air.

Harry's head snapped up. "You already bought the bloody tickets? I don't care. Take Hermione to it or give them to your parents. I just don't think proposing to Ginny after taking her to see _Camelot_ is a good idea. Arthur and Guinevere...that just creeps me out. And who am I supposed to be? Lancelot? Yeah, mate, no thanks. Besides, Ginny hates her name. It wouldn't mean the same thing as you finding out what play Hermione's parents named her from."

"So, any other ideas?" Ron settled down into the hard-backed chair. Harry had been whinging about how he should propose to Ginny for over six months now. He had tried to get something together for her birthday, but chickened out of proposing in the middle of the Harpies game that day. On top of the Harpies losing and Ginny being injured badly enough to be removed from the game (dislocated shoulder and some bad bruising to the side of her face), he realized at the last minute that he didn't want such a personal moment on display for the entire world.

His next attempt had been this past Halloween, but he'd backed out right before he'd planned to propose again. He'd taken Ginny to Godric's Hollow to meet his parents. As he was "introducing" Ginny to them, all he could think about was how morbid and sad this was. His father had been completely arse over teakettle for his mother. While Harry had no idea how James had proposed to Lily, he was sure it was something fun and memorable. So, he'd tapered off simply by telling Ginny he loved her and how much she meant to him and left it at that.

So now, Harry was days away from Christmas and ready to throw in the towel once more. Ron had originally said he wanted nothing to do with the whole thing as long as Harry proposed to Ginny soon. Hermione had told him it had to be romantic and perfect, "Like _Ronald_."

Knowing _now_ that his friends had probably shagged just before giving him that bit of advice made Harry want to gag.

"I've asked everyone I can what they think. Neville suggested I use a plant, an Ardent Miranda, I think he called it, to give the ring to Ginny. But the vines kept creeping up my trousers and I think the bloody thing was feeling me up!" Ron laughed heartily at that.

"Dean offered to paint Ginny, but I wasn't sure that was something I really wanted to do. Then he said it would be a nude painting." Ron's grumblings mirrored Harry's own. Dean was lucky Harry had kept his temper and politely turned his offer down.

Seamus advised they get blasted on Firewhisky. Lavender recommended Madam Puddifoot's and Parvati thought it would be wise to have their palms read before he proposed to make sure their life lines were compatible.

Mrs. Weasley wanted Harry to propose in front of the entire family. Mr. Weasley suggested on an aeroplane. Bill just glared at him. Fleur thought at the top of the Eiffel Tower would be romantic and George thought Harry ought to propose directly after shagging.

"Except Angelina said that wasn't a good way to propose because then Ginny wouldn't be able to share her 'how he proposed' story without some serious lying. And then George got all upset and said he thought she liked how he had proposed and they started arguing. Really, I didn't need to know that about them."

Ron threw his head back, laughing hard. Finally, he sat up, gasping a little. "You hadn't told me about George's advice. If I didn't think Hermione would have killed me, that's how I'd have proposed to her." He gave a regretful little sigh. "So what about Charlie and Percy? Did they have any suggestions?"

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "Charlie? What's he going to tell me? Don't let her breathe fire on me? Show me how to use a Conjunctivitis Curse? Tell me to keep a pail of water on hand? I didn't bother asking Charlie. And Percy tried to threaten me into 'making an honest woman out of his baby sister' two years ago."

Ron sat up straight hearing that. "What? I don't remember you telling me that. That's before she moved in with you, yeah? What happened?"

Harry debated for a moment over telling his best mate just _why_ Percy had threatened Harry on Christmas two years ago. Seeing as Ginny was Ron's sister, he'd always kept that part of his relationship with his girlfriend quiet...but Harry really doubted Ron was going to replace the kitchen table that his two best friends had apparently felt the need to have a quickie on the previous evening when they'd stopped by with take-away. _'Ahh, nothing like a little revenge,'_ he thought.

"Oh, Perce caught us naked in Ginny's room with my head between your sister's thighs." Harry couldn't help the smirk (he'd come to think of it as the "Snape Smirk") as he watched Ron's face turn green. Ron quickly gave some vague and obviously made up excuse after that and left Harry's cubicle.

Harry's day was done soon after that and he left, feeling lighter now that the pressure was off for him to propose to his girlfriend by Christmas.

GWHP

Christmas morning at the Burrow was the same wonderful, noisy event it always was. The kids, Victoire, Teddy and tiny Dominique, were the centre of attention. Teddy and Victoire were inseparable, playing with some blocks Bill had charmed to stay steady in their rather wobbly looking towers until one of the toddlers decided to knock them down. Dominique, being not even a month old, was passed around to her aunts and uncles to be cooed over, though her protective mother and grandmother were never far away.

As much as this Christmas with the Weasleys filled him with the same amount of happiness it had for several years, something was wrong, in Harry's mind. He couldn't put a finger on it. Growing up, it wasn't as though he had any expectations for the holiday other than to be ignored, so he'd never developed the habit of expecting some miracle or wondrous surprise on Christmas. He was always overjoyed with any gifts he received because they meant he was part of their family.

Mrs. Weasley, Molly as she kept admonishing Harry to call her, had provided the same wonderful feast as always, with all of his favourites present, including a treacle tart that he knew she made just because he loved it.

His jumper was perfect, soft and dark blue this year, nicely complementing Ginny's own sky blue jumper. His had thin stripes around the neck the same colour as Teddy's turquoise jumper. Harry was happy to see Molly had added a hood to his godson's gift. The boy changed his hair colour constantly and was prone to ear aches, so he always needed something on his head.

Nevertheless, something just didn't seem right today. Harry brushed it off as unimportant and smiled when Fleur asked him if he would like to hold Dominique. He nodded and settled back to hold the tiny pink bundle. He was fairly certain he had heard Molly and Ginny's sisters-in-law all sigh, but he refrained from rolling his eyes. All of Ginny's brothers, except Charlie who was either a rake, gay or more into dragons than he was into people, were married and the pressure for Harry to propose had heated up immensely since Ron and Hermione's wedding the previous spring.

Harry and Ginny endured quite a few opinions about it being time for them to settle down or what wonderful parents they would make. He agreed wholeheartedly that Ginny would make a good mother someday. She was currently helping Teddy build his tower to be taller than the three year old and listening to whatever two year old Victoire thought was so important. Looking down at his newest, well, she wasn't his niece yet, but everyone called him Uncle Harry, he couldn't help but smile and wonder what it would be like to hold his own child.

"She knows, you know." Harry startled and quickly started cooing at little Dominique when his sudden movement had upset her. She calmed easily and Harry turned to glare at Hermione. She was seated close to him on the couch and had hissed right into his ear. It wasn't something he found pleasant.

"Who is _she_ and what does she know?" he hissed back angrily.

Hermione looked around, apparently trying to be furtive about it, but failing miserably. Luckily for her, the rest of the family was used to her poor sneaking skills and gave them a little privacy.

"Ginny, she knows you have the ring." Harry paled at this. He thought he'd hidden it well. "She found it in your 'super-secret spot' less than a week after you bought it last spring." Hermione gave her best disapproving look. Apparently, it was well known that Harry hid things from his girlfriend on the upper shelf of the kitchen cupboard. It surprised him as she needed a tall stool to reach it and it housed mostly foods that she didn't care for.

"Harry, she knew about the Quidditch game proposal plan and she suspected you were going to propose at your, er, at Halloween. She's told me several times that she doesn't care when or how you do it, but I know she's been really disappointed and, well, I really think she expected it last night or this morning." She must have noticed that Harry was upset, because her tone gentled and she laid a hand on Harry's arm.

"What should I do?" he asking, panicking slightly. "I didn't bring the ring here because I don't really want to do it with an audience."

Hermione sighed, apparently not wanting to completely let him off the hook. "You need to do it soon or she just might take the decision from you. What about New Year's?"

Harry nodded absently, thinking it over. They usually met with some friends from school on New Year's Eve, but he could ask her when they got home after the party. It would be private, but still special and a nice way to start the New Year.

Hermione changed the subject after that, asking Harry about a recent case and Molly came over to pluck her newest grandchild from his arms. The rest of the day was a bit of a fog. When Percy and Audrey showed up in time for tea after spending the morning with her family, Harry barely registered that they announced they were going to be having a baby. He congratulated them along with everyone else, but it was then he realized why he'd not been as happy this Christmas.

He'd been planning on being Ginny's fiancé this year, instead of just her boyfriend and Ron's best friend. Holding Dominique and watching Teddy and Toire had really driven home the point as well. He wanted his own family and he wanted to be a true, official part of Ginny's family. The only way that was going to happen was if he got off his arse and asked her to marry him.

'_The only problem,_' he thought as he kissed Molly on the cheek as they said their goodbyes. _'Is I still don't know how I'm going to make it special for her.'_

HPGW

Early the next morning, Harry was having trouble sleeping. Ginny had been a little distant when they had arrived back at their flat and he was fairly certain he knew why now. They had quietly put the leftovers that her mother had forced them into taking away and each of them had kept themselves quietly occupied before turning in. Harry had been pretending to read _Which Broomstick_, but he'd really been thinking about his New Year's proposal and watching Ginny. She was checking over the broom he'd gotten her for Christmas. It wasn't one she could use with the Harpies, the team provided the players with their game brooms, but flying was something she loved just as much as Harry. The newest Firebolt model was something she'd been longing for since it had premiered around her birthday. He could tell she loved it, but now that he was aware of her disappointment, he could easily see it in her face.

Ginny turned into Harry's embrace only after she'd drifted to sleep. It was yet another sign about how badly he'd messed things up. She always wanted to cuddle.

Now, hours later, Harry had woken up yet again and he couldn't get back to sleep. Instead, he just gazed down at Ginny. She was his love, his _lover_ and his best friend. Somewhere along the way, she'd become his world and he had been so caught up in doing right by her in his proposal, that he'd stuffed the whole thing up.

Ginny shifted in her sleep and the duvet fell away, giving Harry a clear view of her creamy freckled thigh. He couldn't help running his hand over the smooth expanse or pressing closer to her. She pressed back, wiggling her leg in between Harry's and clutching at his shoulders.

"Why is it you always wake up randy at three in the bloody morning and feel like you need to wake me up, too?" she mumbled into his bare chest. The tiny little flick of her tongue, however, made Harry hitch his breath. He gently rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her legs before leaning forward to press kisses onto her exposed shoulder. Harry loved the scattering of freckles there the most.

"Because you get shirty with me if I leave you be and just wank instead." She snorted at this. Just last week she had been shirty with him for waking her up and had told him to go wank in the shower and leave her be. Of course, the Harpies had an early morning practice scheduled that day, unlike this morning. They were both off and Harry was thinking that spending the day in bed with Ginny sounded like heaven.

His girlfriend gave a husky chuckle and trailed her fingers down his sides. When they reached his waist, she immediately started tugging at his pyjama bottoms, but made very little progress at removing them.

Harry, on the other hand, had already succeeded in pulling the too-large shirt from her body, leaving her in only a pair of knickers. He nuzzled her breasts while attempting to help her get rid of his bottoms. Once he was free of his clothing, having just pushed his pants off as well, he worked Ginny's knickers down her legs. He got them down past her knees and then she used her feet to wiggle the lacy little things off the rest of the way. He smirked when she flung her knickers off and watched them sail over the bed. Harry loved when she did that.

They came together like magnets; lips and hips meeting at almost the same time. A feeling of euphoria surged through Harry at the sensations of being joined so intimately with Ginny. He pulled back to brace himself so he could thrust more surely. Looking down, he could see she was smiling, sleepily but also tenderly at him, and the words slipped out without any conscious thought.

"Marry me."

Ginny's eyes widened, all traces of sleep chased off by those two little words that had been breathed out more than spoken. Her hands clamped on his hips, stopping his movements and Harry's euphoria was instantly replaced with panic.

"Really?" Harry could only nod.

Ginny didn't answer, but began rocking her hips against him. The panic didn't ebb away, but was mixed with his desire and Harry couldn't help reacting. Emotions warred in him and made it impossible for Harry to hold onto any control. With one final thrust and a beseeching "Please!", he stilled. Automatically, he moved his fingers down to where they were still connected and swirled and dipped until she cried out too.

They lay still, cuddled up side by side, for several long moments. Harry's heart hadn't stopped its pounding, his panic sending hundreds of horrible scenarios through his imagination. But he remained still, hoping against hope that he was wrong.

Finally, Ginny propped herself up on an elbow, the biggest grin across her face. "I can't believe we got engaged while shagging! You couldn't even wait until afterwards! Mum is going to have Kneazles, so I may just tell her it was over breakfast or something, if you don't mind. But I can't wait to tell Hermione. She'll be up in arms, of course, but it was perfect, love. I can't think of a better way for you to have proposed to me."

She said all of this very quickly, but he had only latched onto her first words.

"Does that mean 'yes?'" he whispered.

"What?" Ginny looked confused for a moment. Then she laughed and slapped him lightly on his arm before cuddling back up against his side. "Of course it does, you prat. That's what you get when you pop the question during sex. Her 'yes' could be either agreeing to marry you or it could be that she really liked that spot you just hit." The redhead sat back up, with a serious, tender expression on her face. "Harry Potter, I would love to marry you more than anything else."

And that is how Boxing Day became Harry's favourite day of the year.


End file.
